Unicorn Riders - Pinch (English)

Chapter 18: Into the tunnels

Above the Northern No Man's Land, as "Pinch" had decided to call it, the sky was coloured in a gentle orange, and it began to brighten up significantly. Quincy galloped through the landscape, stepped safely upon uneven terrain, and at no time "Pinch" gained the feeling that she would be thrown off any second. Plus they made good pace. Strike Squad's camp was far from the area she had been before, but as the sun began to rise she could make out the crash site somewhere in the distance and use it to orientate. The mountains with the children's hideout lay dead ahead. It wouldn't take her much longer to reach them. She hoped with all her heart that she would make it in time.

Soon she arrived at the surrounding forest. From here "Pinch" had to be careful. If these criminals were still around, it could be very dangerous. In the shadows of the trees she had Quincy stop and dismounted. On her guard she looked around and listened. It was quiet. The first birds of the morning chirped up in the trees, and the wind whooshed gently. Quincy gave a reluctant snicker, looking at her from his big horse eyes. She let out a regretful sigh. It was too dangerous to keep him around. "Go home, Quincy!" she ordered him and put a slap on his rear end. "Come on now, go!" The horse obeyed, but "Pinch" had the feeling that it didn't like to leave her on her own. With one last snicker it went home, and "Pinch" was alone.

The forest reached right up to the metal sheet hiding the entrance to the hideout. But a great deal to the left the forest ended, and a flat flank of hill leaned towards the mountain. Suddenly "Pinch" heard voices coming from there. She pulled her gun out and took cover behind a rock. Those voices were more than familiar to her.

"I'm surprised he changed his mind about it" The voice of Sykes was scratching in "Pinch's" ears. "Not that I'm complaining..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Johnson seemed to have lost some of his calmness. At least he didn't sound so controlled and firm this time. "That's what you've been waiting for all this time, and now you get it. The important thing is that we finally have what we came for."

"I could look after it, boss" Whitmore offered. It was apparent that he was very happy - he could have even been heard back in Coock City. But Johnson wouldn't take this kind of offer.

"The stones remain with me, Whitmore. Go back to the camp with your nephew and prepare for our departure!" It was followed by some whispered words that "Pinch" couldn't make out. She took a careful glimpse around the corner and saw the three of them standing there. Jesper was there, too. He was already turning away from them to leave, so he couldn't see Johnson making gestures towards him and Whitmore nodding silently on it. "It's not going to be a problem, is it?" Johnson then asked loudly enough for "Pinch" to hear him.

Whitmore shook his head and gave his reply with a tone that gave "Pinch" an ice-cold shiver. "No problem. It's about time anyway."

"Then go! See you at the camp." Johnson turned around to Sykes. Quickly "Pinch" went back behind her cover before he could see her. "Now what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to celebrate a bit" Sykes stated, and she also sounded as pleased as a cat that just had pillaged a nest full of birds. "Just waiting for the big bang to happen. Afterwards I'll be coming after."

Johnson mumbled. "It's a bit early for celebrations, but whatever. Be there in time, or we'll depart without you." He turned to leave as well. His controlled steps vanished out of "Pinch's" hearing range. "Pinch" kept her head down when she left her cover, keeping the rock between herself and the criminals. The big bang? She had an idea what it was supposed to mean. If she was right, then this couldn't mean anything good.

When she had the feeling that she had put enough distance between her and the criminals, she accelerated her steps, heading for the big metal sheet. There was no time to push it to the side, but it was leaning towards the rock wall, leaving enough space for "Pinch" to squeeze through. She took off the backpack and stuffed it in a corner under the sheet where no one would find it by accident. Then she crawled into the tunnel.